I will say this. Yes, Second Life has a steep learning curve – and yes, the learning curve levels off but never actually ends. The latter part of that is one of the things I love about this virtual world – you can always learn something.

Most of the skills we learn in any life we learn incrementally. We start off slowly and we do it in small steps, no matter how frustrating that might be. However, this isn’t like learning heart surgery. It doesn’t take that long.

Do I think orientation needs to be improved? Of course. Should those who help newcomers be supported and encouraged? Absolutely! But we survived the process and, with help, so can anybody motivated by more than a need to score points or level up.

Will regimenting avatar size and camera angles fix Second Life? Give me a break. All of those who keep publishing not only the imminent death of the grid, but inane solutions tailored to fit their own idiotic obsessions, have over-simplified something so beautifully rich and powerful that I wonder sometimes if they’re in a parallel metaverse. They should stay there.

Pienaar

I do not agree with your conclusions at all. Second Life offers a lot of beautiful moments for sure. That’s why we all continue to go there.

But to first time users SL is ugly. They get a terrible starter avatar and are dumped somewhere. You can’t underestimate how important it is for a new person to likes his/her avatar. It’s one of the primary motivations for new users to invest the necessary time and effort for the learning curve.

People who arrive for the first time don’t even know that it is possible to “cam” in SL. They only see this – in 2013 – totally weird camera angle on this ugly looking avatar that represents them. No wonder that they are leaving almost all.

Maybe you are happy that only one of hundred new player stays long enough to learn that SL can be beautiful. Then you are absolutely right to name people’s advice how to change the situation ‘ideotic obsessions’.

Maybe you are happy that SL will slowly and steadily decline, because there is only an existing user base without new arrivals. Or you just mixed up your own experience of SL with the experience and frustration that thel new users have.

There is certainly no need to feel superior to those who come forward with valuable advice on how other platforms retain users. It’s not 2006 anymore and creating and SL isn’t part of a hype anymore. How many of your SL contacts are people who registered in the last 2 years? If anyone seriously thinks that the avatar sliders and other ‘first impression’ factors should NOT be brought to the level of 2013 then they will find out soon enough that their ‘parallel metaverse’ will get emptier by the day. I would terribly regret that.

You might notice how I thought the mentors meeting people when they arrive are very important – and how much think places like White Tiger etc., are necessary. I have no illusions about how difficult orientation to Second Life is.
I don’t think it will be solved by worrying about the height of avatars – which is the obsession to which I referred. :)